Beyond the Francophone Maghreb

Abstract

The study of North African literatures has been firmly rooted in francophone frameworks since the 1960s, an approach that perpetuates colonial categories of both space and language. It is thus imperative to continue to push the study of North African cultural production beyond the geographic and linguistic limitations of the so-called Francophone Maghreb. This Introduction outlines the history of the study of North African literatures, and suggests a series of under-studied questions critical to the future of the field. How do other languages in the region intersect with French? How do individual North African works and writers problematize monolithic definitions of nationalism and regional identities? How do authors in the diaspora experience their North African identities in new languages and new contexts? How do the literatures and cultural productions of the Maghreb relate to the rest of Africa, and to other spaces such as the Middle East and the Mediterranean? These questions provide the thematic grounding that unites the articles of the current Special Issue, and evoke further avenues of expansion for the field of North African studies.

Keywords:

• Maghreb
• North Africa
• North African languages
• Francophone
• African literature in Arabic
• African literature in French
• Diasporic literature

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ziad Bentahar

Ziad Bentahar is Associate Professor at Towson University. Most of his teaching and research is on languages, literatures, and cultures in North Africa. His recent publications include articles on Assia Djebar, Viva Laldjérie, and the 2019 Algerian Hirak. He is one of the co-founders of the North Africa Caucus of the African Literature Association, and served as its inaugural chair.

Erin Twohig

Erin Twohig is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Georgetown University. Her research interests span from North African literature and education to the history of women's soccer in France. She is the author of Contesting the Classroom: Reimagining Education in Moroccan and Algerian Literatures (Liverpool University Press, 2019).